James d



(No Mo dell) J. D. HOLLISTER.

GOMBINBD SEAL AND ALARM FOR GAR D0038. No. 263,658. Patented Aug. 29, 1882.

ETEHS, FhalwLilhognpMr, Walhingun. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. HOLLIS'IER, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE HOOKS SMELTING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.

COMBINED SEAL AND ALARM .FOR CAR-DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 263,658, dated August 29, 1882.

Application filed February 6, 1882.

'in gs, in which- Figures 1 and2 are views showingonemethod of carrying out my invention, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 views showing another method.

' My invention consists essentially in combining a seal with a shell containing explosive material.

One of the simplest ways of carrying out my invention is that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, in which A represents the shell of an ordinary percussion-cap, having around the' lower edge the usual flange, a. To'this flange is secured a ring, B, having impressed in or otherwise formed upon it the letters or characters necessary to constitute a seal- This combined alarm and seal is intendedto be used in connection with an exploding device connected with a car-door fastening-such, for instance, as that described in my Patent No. 255,988, dated April 4, 1882.

A car being loaded at a certain station, the device Fig. 1, having a seal, B, bearing the name of that station, is applied tothe alarm apparatus of the fastening, and the dooris closed and fastened. When the car, on arrival at its destination or at another station, is opened by the proper officer, the opening must be accompanied by an explosion. Otherwise it will indicate that the car has been opened or the fastening tampered with at some point between the station at which the car was sealed and the station at which the examination is made.

The mode of combining the seal B with the flanged shell A is shown in Fig. 2. The seal is made of lead or other soft and ductile metal, and is in the form, of aflanged ring, the internal diameter of the flange being suflicient to apart.

(N0 model.)

When the parts are thus adjusted the ring is subjected to pressure between the jaws m w of a pair of sealin g-ton gs or other suitable device, and the flange of the ring is thus pressed down onto the flange of the shell A, and at the same time has the desired letters or characters formed in it by means of dies carried by one of the jaws of the tongs.

Figs. 3 and 4 show another form of my combined seal and alarm device intended for a fastening of a different character from that to which the device shown in Fig. l is adapted. In this case the device is in theform of a cartridge, the shell D of which has a flange at each end and a depressionor crease in the center. The shell contains explosive material, embedded in which is a bar, I), with enlarged ends, the device being exploded by pulling the shell apart, the fracture occurring at the crease. It should be understood that the bar I) is not connected ,to the shell D, but is simply embedded in the explosive contents of the same, the object of the bar being to subject said contents to friction as the shell is pulled apart, thus causing the explosion.

The seal consists of a ring, F, adapted to fit snugly to the shell D and its flanges, and projecting beyond said flanges, as shown in Fig. 3, a groove being made in the center of the ring, so as to permit it to be easily pulled The ring is preferably made by wrapping around the shell 1), as shown in Fig. 4., a short strip or bar of sheet-lead or like metal rolled to the proper shape in cross-section, as seen in Fig. 6. This device is intended to be used in connection with a fastening such as shown in Fig. 5, said fastening comprising a latch, G, on the door and a keeper, J, on the car-frame, countersunk openings being formed in both the latch and keeper. The carbeing closed and the latch in engagement with the keeper, the explosive device, with its surround ing ring, is applied to the openings in said latch and keeper, and the projecting ends of the ring are then subjected to the action of the sealingtongs, so as to compress the metal and cause it to enter the countersunk ends of the openings and overlap the flanged ends of the shell D, as shown in Fig. 5. The car is now sealed,

5 admit the flange ct of the shell A, as shown. and any attempt to gain access to the car by opening the door necessitates the lifting of the latch G, which Will result in the tearing apart of the ring and shell D, thus destroying the seal and causing an explosion.

Although I have described the attachment of a seal by compression to a shell containing explosive material, it will be evident that the I seals may be applied in other waysfor instance, by casting or by molding plastic material around the shell or a part thereof.

I claim as my invention- "1. The combination, substantially as I deit to be pulled apart with the same, as specified.

3. The creased shell containing explosive material, and a bar with enlarged ends, in combination with the grooved sealing-ring, as specified.

4. The combination of a latch and keeper having countersunk openings with a separable shell containing explosive material, and a separable sealing-ring adapted to the said shell and to the countersunk openings in the latch and keeper, as set forth.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES D. 'HOLLISTER.

Witnesses:

J. S. BOATWRIGI-IT, HENRY (1. MANOR. 

